BOWLS WITHOUT BIAS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 150, 20 March 1936, Page 2

BOWLS WITHOUT BIAS

Hundreds in the South

WOMEN PLAYERS

(By

Armada.)

While proposals that women be given an opportunity to play bowls are subject for humour at annual meetings o£ clubs in Wellington, there lias come this mouth the news of a women's bowling tournament at Timaru lasting four days and in which 42 rinks took part. The Newtown club lias been boasting the disliuc tion of having the only woman full member in Wellington, but in Uaulerburj, Otago ami Southland there are hundreds of women players. The difference in outlook” toward the subject between districts is surprising. One lone woman player in Wellington is a curiosity: in tiie south they have their own greens, their own centres and their own tournaments that are patronised as freely as are men’s, from reports. 'Women bowlers are nut a joke or a curiosity in Canterbury. Otago or Southland, and apparently their skill on the mat is not a joke, either. The fact of the matter is that most bowlers in Wellington have only been able to imagine the more grotesque consequences of any change. Tlie purpose of this comment is not to urge Wellington clubs to pass .resolutions at their next annual meetings admitting women, if members feel that they like things ns Uiey are, but to point out that the game is enjoyed by hundreds of New Zealand women in other parts of the country who must have had some encouragement to play from the men in their districts before they first took up the game. One cannot play bowls without a green and men controlled all the greens once.

Caso for Public Green. It is not easy for a nou-player, man or woman, to become introduced to bowls in Wellington, which is a cause of its slow advancement in comparison with other sports. Fifteen years ago, for instance, there were only three or four golf clubs in Wellington; now there are 19 in Wellington and the suburbs, so that the number of players is, perhaps, three thousand. The exact number cannot be told because many who play occasionally do not belong to a club. The 23 bowling clubs in the centre ha-ve about seventeen hundred members, and in the last annual report of the centre an increase m the total membership of only 17 was reported. The games which progress are ' those which have accommodation where outsiders may try their band without committing themselves to membership of a club. Tennis is played in the schools and there arc public tennis courts; golf has its public links, hut there, was no public bowling green in Wellington until the opening of the indoor green at the Winter Show buildings, and it Las introduced so many to the game that at least one club has felt an increased membership. Tlowever, the indoor green is available only in the winter. There can be little doubt that a proper public in the city would attract people to the playing of bowls by allowing them to sample it in tue conditions in which it is usually played. The writer cannot remember any movement ever being made to induce the City Council or any other authority to establish a public green, but the benefit such an, institutltm would give has probably not been realised by many. Those who are members of ciubs already stand to benefit as well as non-players, for often a suburban resident with an hour or more to spare while in the city could occupy the time if there were a handy publiii green. Thus members" of suburban clubs would have a green to play on in the city, and all clubs would benefit from an increase in the game’s popularity. ’ ‘ ‘ Mid-week Pennant. The Lyall Bay club has won the midweek pennant competition with 12 wins out of 15. The complete result of the competition cannot be announced because all clubs have not sent in the results to the secretary of the centre. Pennants Final. The iinal the pennant competition, between Thorndon and Hataitai, will be played at the Island Bay green to-mor-row. The name of Thorndon does not appear in the record of winners of the pennant, but Hataitai has heid it five times, the last in 1933-34. Seatoun’s Champion. An enviable success has been the lot ot J. McAnally, of the Seatoun dub, this season. (UcAnally won the club’s singles championship and represented it Jn the champion of champions games, being eliminated only in the semi-finals. He was lead for Glennie in the pairs, and winning the club championship, taey went on in the champion of champions as far as the third round. The champion rink of the club had McAnally as lead, but he was unable to participate in the centre championship. ... Last Sunday about four rinks from the Greytown club visited the Seatoun green and were entertained by the Seatoun club. The meeting of these two clubs is an annual event.

Eleven Times Champion. D Stevenson, this year’s champion of the Taieri club. Dunedin, has now won the honour 11 times, thus equalling tue record of W. Carswell.

Payment of Expenses. The Dunedin centre has asked, all its clubs to call meetings of members to consider tlie proposal to make a levy to provide funds to send a selected team of New Zealand bowlers to the Empire Games in 1938.